On August 12, 1949, when the scorching heat of the day is barely disturbed by the gentle breeze from the nearby Mediterranean, a man with an unexpected destiny climbs the steps leading from the Old Port to the forecourt of the Basilica of Saint-Michael, which he just spotted in the distance.
André Böröcz, of Hungarian origin, is spending a few days in Menton and will very soon fall under its charm. Thus, the Menton Music Festival is born.
This new edition, from July 31 to August 14, will bear witness to the renewed magic: from concerts at the Cocteau Museum to the exceptional program on the forecourt.
For Jean-Claude Guibal, the city’s chief magistrate: “It will be the expression of a rediscovered miracle above this ancient Mediterranean shore colored in gold, even and especially as night falls.”
And as a tribute to the late André Böröcz, two legendary artists, who were already present under his artistic direction, will participate in this 65th anniversary: Gidon Kremer and Nelson Freire.
The opening concert will see the much-anticipated return of Gidon Kremer and his orchestra in an original program ranging from Vivaldi to Glass.
A “Do You Like Brahms” cycle will allow us to hear part of his chamber music with the complete sonatas for violin and piano with Renaud Capuçon and Nicholas Angelich, as well as his quintet opus 34 with Menahem Pressler and the Schumann Quartet.
A carte blanche to one of the great piano poets of today: Nelson Freire. An original and humorous note with the duo Igudesman and Joo.
A cycle around Bach with Alexandre Tharaud, Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini, Sol Gabetta.
The return to Menton of one of the great European baroque orchestras: the Ensemble Matheus with Jean-Christophe Spinozi at the baton and violin.
A journey into the romantic universe of Schumann and Slavic melodies with the new great lyrical revelation: tenor Piotr Beczala.
And finally, as a fireworks display, the volcanic Simone Kermes in a virtuosic program around the great castrati.
And of course, a series of 6 PM concerts will be held within the Cocteau Museum Collection Séverin Wunderman, which has become an essential venue of the Menton Festival in just one season, featuring this year, among others, an exceptional concert dedicated to Rameau by Christophe Rousset.
